The Chief Online Learning Officers' Guidebook explores the essential competencies required of Chief Online Learning Officers (COLOs) using insights from real-world leadership and expert perspectives from higher education.
Jocelyn Widmer, Ph.D., serves as the Dean for Weapons Learning Transformation at Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA. She has worked in digital and online education for more than 15 years in various faculty and leadership roles within academic colleges and as the Chief Online Learning Officer of Texas A&M University. Prior to her role at TAMU, Widmer held joint faculty appointments in the Colleges of Architecture and Public Health at both the University of Florida and Virginia Tech where she developed, administered, and taught in online and face-to-face undergraduate and graduate programs, including leading the first and only professionally accredited online master's of urban and regional planning (University of Florida) through the accreditation process. Thomas B. Cavanagh, Ph.D., is Vice Provost for Digital Learning at the University of Central Florida, USA. In this role, he oversees the distance learning strategy, policies, and practices of one of the nation's largest universities. Prior to UCF, he led online course design and production for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and has a long career in corporate e-learning and film/television. He has been recognized with a number of leading industry awards, including the Richard Jonsen Award (WCET's highest career recognition), USDLA's Leadership Award, and the 1EdTech Community Leadership Award. He has also been named a Fellow of the Online Learning Consortium.
